Water infrastructure resilience: Agencies could better assess efforts to assist communities vulnerable to disasters

This report examines, among other things, (1) financial assistance that EPA, FEMA, and USDA provided to improve water infrastructure; (2) the extent to which these agencies addressed barriers vulnerable communities face accessing and participating in selected programs; and (3) how these agencies assessed the extent to which assistance reached vulnerable communities.

Drinking water and wastewater utilities have experienced disruption or failure after disasters, threatening public health. For example, disasters in Mississippi in 2022 and North Carolina in 2024 left residents without potable water for weeks. Federal agencies provide assistance for utilities to build resilience against natural disasters, including communities in rural and lowincome areas vulnerable to disasters. GAO is making eight recommendations, including that FEMA communicate about options to meet cost-share requirements, and that EPA, FEMA, and USDA use service area map tools. EPA and FEMA disagreed with using the tools. USDA did not comment. GAO maintains its recommendations are valid, as discussed in this report.